TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The world’s largest gold miner by market capitalisation Goldcorp on Wednesday announced that it had declared commercial production at its Éléonore mine, in the James Bay region of Quebec.
The mine poured its first gold on October 1 last year and was expected to produce between 290 000 oz and 330 000 oz of gold this year, with output weighted towards the second half of the year. For accounting purposes, the company would start recognising revenues from the sale of gold and mine operating costs in its consolidated statement of earnings effective from Wednesday.
"We look forward to Éléonore's strong contribution to our growth profile as it ramps-up to full production between now and the first half of 2018. The mine is expected to be a significant contributor for many years to come. Éléonore has strong reserve growth opportunities as the deposit remains open at depth and we are just beginning to test the district exploration potential,” Goldcorp president and CEO Chuck Jeannes advised.
Goldcorp was one of the world's fastest growing gold producers. Its Cerro Negro mine, in Argentina, poured first gold on July 25 last year, with commercial production achieved on January 1 this year. The mine was expected to add between 425 000 oz and 475 000 oz to Goldcorp’s consolidated output.
For 2015, the company expected gold output to rise 20% to between 3.3-million ounces and 3.6-million ounces, up from 2.87-million ounces in 2014. It expected all-in sustaining costs to average between $875/oz and $950/oz of gold.